Lauren Jackson returned from a hamstring injury to help fire the Opals to a comfortable 80-73 Farewell Series win over Brazil at a sold-out Bendigo Stadium on Tuesday night.
Jackson missed game one of the series but returned as equal top scorer with 15 points alongside Belinda Snell, despite spending just 17 minutes on court.
The 1.96-metre star also pulled down six rebounds as the Opals physically dominated their outmatched opponents before relaxing in the final period.
Australia led by as many as 24 points before being pegged back by a dogged fourth-quarter performance from Brazil, with the two sides paired in the same group at the London Olympics.
Damiris do Amaral top scored with 16 points for the visitors, while Karla Costa chimed in with 14 points.
The match marked a successful hometown farewell for Bendigo-born veteran Kristi Harrower, who celebrated her 200th game in Australian colours.
A teary-eyed Harrower paid tribute to the capacity crowd after the match.
"It was great to come home ... I'm lost for words," Harrower said.
The Opals downed Brazil 85-64 in game one of the three-game series.
The final game will take place at the State Basketball Centre in Knox on Thursday night.
The final game of the Farewell Series will be streamed live on the ABC Grandstand website from 7pm.
Tags: sport, olympics-summer, basketball, bendigo-3550, vic, australia First posted June 26, 2012 21:12:35
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